At the Library

E.T

The Extra-terrestrial

Steven Spielberg's masterpiece about a boy and his special bond with an alien from another planet. This 30th Anniversary Edition includes hours of bonus features, including a new interview with Steven Spielberg.

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This probably speaks more to how easily stressed out I was as a child, but the part where the government people come for E.T. with the hazmat suits and everything colored my viewing experience so strongly that I haven't watched E.T. since.

I don't understand why this movie is a classic. The plot is weird, and E.T. is dorky and annoying. Also there is quite a bit more language and crude jokes than I would appreciate in this movie. Not a "classic" as everyone claims. Not recommended.

I recently re-watched this film after having not seen it since I was a child. I truly disliked it. The special effects were impressive, but like so many films of the 1980's, the main character ruined it for me. Why were so many of the children of 1980's films such royal brats? I don't find it precocious; I find it annoying. I did like the oldest brother, and found him and his story far more interesting than his younger brother. I sympathized with the mom as well. I found E.T. the character as both creepy and annoying. There were touching moments within this film, but overall, I don't understand why this film is considered a classic. I wasn't particularly enamored of it when I was a kid, and as an adult, I find it practically unwatchable.

This film is a family classic and notable for its blending of the science fiction genre and the family film genre. Usually, the two are incompatible, but Spielberg created a marvelous alien, especially one for the times, that seemed alive, functional, one with a heart and soul and feelings, and that was important. The alien bonds with a little boy named Elliott and everyone else comes along for the ride as they try to get him back to his home planet, but there's the ominous inclusion of adult elements that no kid should have to deal with, like government interference and xenobiological research, complete with security measures around their home and armed guards ready to shoot. Most people love this film because they grew up with it, so for those who don't understand its appeal, that's probably why, but everyone loves the car-and-bike chase that gave Amblin studios its logo. It warms the heart and heightens the spirit, and, now as an adult, I pour tears at the end, something I don't remember doing as a child. The emotional connection must grow stronger with nostalgia. Ultimately, I would recommend the restored Blu-Ray of E.T. because it reclaimed the beauty of the original, including the scene where the guns were replaced with walkie-talkies to kowtow to oddball sensibilities without noting that this change alters the emotional reaction needed for the narrative to make sense. The Blu-Ray also makes it even better to see just how fantastic this film really is on a visual level, before the heavily used CGI era was ushered in. I would definitely recommend E.T. to absolutely everyone.

Didn't believe corny first contact film as a kid when it came out.
Why people want to watch rose tinted film back then?
Even I knew on European explorers, adventurers & settlers changed pre-industrial societies extrapolated into nothing good.
Easily understood US government's reaction to E.T given they did to many cultures & possibility of no resistance to new or mutated diseases via cross-contamination.

Quotes

Michael: "Maybe it was an iguana." Elliot: "It was NO iguana." Michael: "Maybe, um - you know how they say there are alligators in the sewers?" Gertie: "Alligators in the sewers." Mary: "All we're trying to say is, maybe you just probably imagined it. It happened..." Elliot: "I couldn't have imagined it!" Michael: "Maybe it was a pervert or a deformed kid or something." Gertie: "A deformed kid." Michael: (mockingly) "Maybe an elf or a leprechaun." Elliot: "It was nothing like that, penis-breath!" Mary: (laughs in shock) "ELLIOT! Sit down."

Summary

A young boy finds a young alien near his house, who he learns has been separated from his family. The boy, along with his sister and brother, make a decision to help reunite the alien with his family so that they can return to their home-planet. But when the rest of the neighbourhood find out about the alien their own intentions make it difficult for the kids to get the alien back to his family safetly, or even alive.